Here are the top ten PR nightmares in the airline industry. It seems that some of these airlines may need a little extra managemnt from a venture capital firm.
1. Southwest Airlines – The low-cost carrier told a 23-year-old college student she was dressed to provacatively and initially told her she couldn’t board the plane. She goes public, appearing on the Today show.
2. Sinagpore Airlines – inaugurates the Airbus A380, the world’s largest jet, with a seven-hour flight from Singapore to Sydney. To the chagrin of those who forked out $15,000 for one of 12 private, double-bed-equipped suites, the airline asks its passengers to refrain from having sex.
3. SkyWest Airlines – SkyWest Airlines apologizes to passenger James Whipple after he is barred from using the plane’s restroom during a one-hour flight from Boise to Salt Lake City. Whipple, who says he had two “really big beers” before takeoff, winds up urinating into his airsickness bag and is questioned by airport police upon landing.
4. Doug Parker (US Airways) - Just hours after US Airways comes up short in its $9.8 billion bid to acquire Delta, CEO Doug Parker is pulled over by police in Scottsdale, and arrested for drunken driving.
To see the other blunders, click here.
